Backwaters of Kerala: Poovar

One of the main highlights of Kerala is the backwaters, a vast network of waterways and islands surrounded by dense vegetation and coconut palms. The most famous are those around Allepey, Kollam and Kottayam, but there are more. As a first introduction to the backwaters, my friends and I went for a motor boat tour in Poovar, in the South of Trivandrum.

This area is not yet well known by foreign tourists so it is not crowded. The people working for the boat tours did not speak English, and my friends had to translate for me. This was not a problem, the backwaters do not require much explanations to be enjoyed.

We had a boat for the four of us. We started in the main river and soon abandoned it to explore the side channels. The vegetation around is very dense and green, with plenty of coconut palm trees. We crossed a few other boats but not many. It was very silent (except for the engine of the boat, of course), and it was very calm and relaxed.

After a while, we joined again the main river and reached the estuary, where the river meets the ocean. There is a long sand beach, settled between the backwaters and the ocean. There we met a few tourists and fruit and juice vendors. It was great to remove the shoes and walk on the sand and get into the water.

On the way back we took again the side channels, and got the opportunity to observe some birds. The most beautiful we saw was the kingfisher, bright blue on the back and brown on the belly. There were also a lot of eagles. We could also see the life around the channels, some houses, people washing clothes and cows.

I enjoyed a lot the trip, so I am looking forward to explore other backwaters during the coming week.

Have you been in Kerala? What did you like the most? 

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